Saturday, October 13, 2018

grammar - Ambiguity in meaning of sentences with a noun qualifed by an adjective with が particle



I was wondering if there is any ambiguity with sentences that have adjectives qualifying a noun, especially regarding the が particle.


For example:


1.) 僕が好きな人


Can this sentences have an ambiguous double meaning of "The person that I like" and "The person that likes me"?


Likewise


2.) 僕が食べたい魚


Can this mean either "fish I want to eat" or "fish that wants to eat me"?


to make the meaning of this sentence clearer would


3.)僕を食べたい魚-


ONLY mean "fish that want to eat me" as the only interpretation?



Is there a go to interpretation for qualifications like this or does one have to identify exclusively via context unless there are further details provided?


For example, more detailed, clearcut sentences


4.) 僕が好きなところ - This sentence would ONLY mean "The place that I like/My Favorite place"


or


5.) 野菜を食べるのが好きな人 - In this sentence the only interpretation could be "People that like eating vegetables"


Thanks



Answer




1.) [僕]{ぼく}が[好]{す}きな[人]{ひと}


Can this sentences have an ambiguous double meaning of "The person that I like" and "The person that likes me"?




First, that is not a sentence; It is only a noun phrase (or a relative clause). "The person that I like." is not a sentence in English, either.


The answer is affirmative. It can mean both, but to mean "The person that likes me.", it is more natural to say 「僕のことが好きな人」.



2.) 僕が[食]{た}べたい[魚]{さかな}


Can this mean either "fish I want to eat" or "fish that wants to eat me"?



Strictly speaking, no. It can only mean "the fish that I want to eat".


In Japanese, we DO NOT say 「~~たい」 to talk about a third party's desire (in this case, the fish). We say 「食べたがっている」. This is a common mistake among J-learners.


「僕(のこと)を食べたがっている魚」 = "The fish that wants to eat me"



See here for details: Aren't がる and たがる the same thing?



to make the meaning of this sentence clearer would


3.)僕を食べたい魚-


ONLY mean "fish that want to eat me" as the only interpretation?



It is missing 「たがる」 as I mentioned above. You need to use it to talk about the fish' desire.



Is there a go to interpretation for qualifications like this or does one have to identify exclusively via context unless there are further details provided?




Depends on the phrase. As I stated, 「僕が食べたい魚」 can only mean "the fish I want to eat" with or without further context, but the phrase would be ambiguous if one did not know about たい vs. たがる.


Context is important as Japanese is a most contextual language, but your own knowledge of the grammar and such is equally important.


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